We have made it halfway through our Summer Light Small Group Bible study on Radical by David Platt and I must admit it has been very enlightening and eye opening.
Today's devotional has us imagine a scene in parts of the world that are unfamiliar to many of us here in America. You're putting on dark clothes and a hood and heading to secretive place at night. You then pile into a small room with 60 people in it of all ages sitting on the floor or small uncomfortable stools. But they all have their Bible in their laps as they try to study it from the one dangling light bulb in the room. They have no special music, no cushioned seats, no heat/AC. It's just the people and God's Word....and it's enough.
Whoa! How radical would that be to see in a church here in the USA? How many of us if we visited a church that had no music, no band, no cushioned pews, no AC, or the other comforts we have become so used to would come back to that church? Are we going to church for God's Word or for entertainment?
Matthew 4:1-4, Jesus has been fasting for 40 days and is tempted by Satan to command the stones to become bread. Now here Jesus is, hasn't eaten for a month and is being tempted with bread and his response is "It is written, Man Shall note live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God." Jesus needed God's Word more than he needed bread. How many of us yearn to study the Bible that much?
In today's world we have so many things around us that we can turn to for comfort and entertainment, that often times God's Word becomes something we will read and study in our spare time instead of being a priority. We literally have almost everything we could want at our fingertips today. How different would our perspective be if we were more like Jesus in that area, if we prioritized the Word of God over all the comforts and luxuries we have? It does sound radical, but I'm willing to bet that there are some things in your life you can get rid of in order to spend more time in God's Word, there are in mine.
Lord, I pray that I make time to read your word this week. And that you open my eyes and my heart to have a deeper understanding of your word as well. Thank you for giving us this book that tells of who you are and how we are to live. Amen.
Today's devotional has us imagine a scene in parts of the world that are unfamiliar to many of us here in America. You're putting on dark clothes and a hood and heading to secretive place at night. You then pile into a small room with 60 people in it of all ages sitting on the floor or small uncomfortable stools. But they all have their Bible in their laps as they try to study it from the one dangling light bulb in the room. They have no special music, no cushioned seats, no heat/AC. It's just the people and God's Word....and it's enough.
Whoa! How radical would that be to see in a church here in the USA? How many of us if we visited a church that had no music, no band, no cushioned pews, no AC, or the other comforts we have become so used to would come back to that church? Are we going to church for God's Word or for entertainment?
Matthew 4:1-4, Jesus has been fasting for 40 days and is tempted by Satan to command the stones to become bread. Now here Jesus is, hasn't eaten for a month and is being tempted with bread and his response is "It is written, Man Shall note live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God." Jesus needed God's Word more than he needed bread. How many of us yearn to study the Bible that much?
In today's world we have so many things around us that we can turn to for comfort and entertainment, that often times God's Word becomes something we will read and study in our spare time instead of being a priority. We literally have almost everything we could want at our fingertips today. How different would our perspective be if we were more like Jesus in that area, if we prioritized the Word of God over all the comforts and luxuries we have? It does sound radical, but I'm willing to bet that there are some things in your life you can get rid of in order to spend more time in God's Word, there are in mine.
Lord, I pray that I make time to read your word this week. And that you open my eyes and my heart to have a deeper understanding of your word as well. Thank you for giving us this book that tells of who you are and how we are to live. Amen.
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